1 When World War II ended, Europe was a mess. Cities had been bombed. Buildings and homes were in ruins. Factories were vacant and idle. The factory workers had been pressed into military service or killed by the bombings.2 The European economy before the war had been fairly simple to understand. The factories produced goods such as clothing, furniture, and cars. The farmers produced grain and vegetables and raised livestock. The farmers sold their crops and animals for money. They used the money to purchase goods produced in the factories. The factory workers were paid to produce those goods. They spent the money they earned on food produced by the farmer.3 With the factories closed, the workers no longer could earn the money they needed to purchase food from the farmer. The farmer was no longer able to sell his crops, so he stopped growing so much. It was obvious that something needed to be done to help the European economy. Economic experts from around the world were having a big problem trying to decide just what that something would be.